Roy Keane had an incredible career in the game.
Captaining both Manchester United and Ireland, winning countless honours along the way, he is probably the greatest Irish footballer of all-time.
Of course, he was also somewhat of a late bloomer.
Whereas many of our top young players travel over to join English academies at an early age, he had to wait a bit longer for his big break. He would bide his time, getting his first taste of paid football when he joined a FAS course and cut his teeth with Cobh Ramblers.
It wasn't long before Nottingham Forest came calling, and the rest is history.
Despite over three decades passing since then, the Cork man has never forgotten his roots.
Roy Keane pays tribute to Cobh Ramblers on ITV
Roy Keane appeared on ITV this evening for the broadcaster's World Cup coverage, with the panel at one point looking back on past editions of the tournament.
After delving into the 1986 World Cup, they would show what the punditry trio of Keane, Gary Neville, and Joe Cole looked like in the late 80s.
The images of the Irishman showed him in his Cobh kit, with Keane quick to pay tribute to his old club.
Roy Keane reminiscing @FAIreland @CobhRamblersFC lovely moment always remembers his roots @offtheball @CRISClubs @Rissclondon @rissc_tullamore @Corktod @BlogIrish @LansdowneRD_IE pic.twitter.com/zUiWs9gfMK
— The Green Machíne (@GM_Pod) November 26, 2022
Cobh Ramblers are 100 years old this year, so well done to them. They were a real help to me in my career. I'm very grateful to them for that.
They were great days. I always said that I was very lucky in my career. Going go to Cobh for the year was very good for me in terms of my development.
A class act.
Roy Keane's time at Cobh Ramblers was a relatively short one, spending only one season in their first team. Despite this, he gives huge credit to them for crafting them into the player he would eventually become.
He was among the first inductees in the club's hall of fame earlier this month, an honour that was thoroughly deserved.
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